The unemployment rate fell slightly to a seasonally adjusted 6.1 percent in August from 6.2 percent in July, matching its lowest level in almost six years (which it also reached in June). During the past 12 months, the unemployment rate and the number of unemployed persons have declined by 1.1 percentage points and 1.7 million, respectively. The labor force participation rate also declined slightly to 62.8 percent from 62.9 percent last month as the labor force declined by 64,000. The rate, however, has been essentially unchanged since April.
